Manunda Hawks ready to soar up the AFL Cairns ladder

Manunda Hawks coach Clinton Gribble hopes today's AFL Cairns clash against North Cairns at Watsons Oval is the game his team strings ­together a four-quarter performance. The Hawks sit level on the ladder with the Tigers on 12 competition points, but sit a spot lower in third because of an inferior percentage.

Aside from battling for outright second, the match gives the defending premiers a chance to show how far the Hawks have come since copping a 163-point thrashing at the hands of Cairns Saints in the opening round.

While that defeat bruised the club’s pride at the time, Gribble said the Hawks were a much-improved team now they had more game time under their belts.

"We’ve come on in leaps and bounds since Saints gave us that touch up," he said. "Our attack on the ball is definitely a lot better than what it was. At the start of the year, while we still had some blokes from last season, we had a lot of new guys come to the club from all around Australia. It’s taken a bit of time for them to get used to the game plan and to develop that trust in each other. We’re really starting to get that now, and I’ve noticed training has definitely gone up another level."

The Tigers will be formidable on their home turf today, but Gribble is confident the Hawks have the temperament and game plan to succeed in a hostile environment.

"I really want us to stick to our structures," Gribble said. "We’re progressively getting better, but we’re still having those lapses during games. If we can put four quarters together, which we haven’t done this year, then I think we’ll be hard to beat."

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